During my studies, I realized the power of architecture, urbanism, and strategy planning lies in problem-solving. Complex issues nested in various disciplines within society can be answered by one thoughtfully developed spatial response. This solution, however, will always require a coordinated approach of experts from diverse fields, which I consider essential.
Initially focused mainly on solitary buildings, my interest shifted to public spaces and urbanism. I believe architecture and urban design significantly influence human lives and behaviour, and vice-versa.
With every project I work on, I feel that understanding the context and conditions, whether or not spatial / physical, is essential. The importance of this approach is in my opinion best defined in a quote by Alejandro Aravena: “There is nothing worse than answering well the wrong question.” That involves not only analyzing various spatial conditions, but also talking to people in other disciplines, like sociologists, real-estate brokers, or politicians.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Architecture and building engineering
Secondary school of civil engineering, Prague, CZ
7 / 2016 - Toronto, CA - english language course
2017 - Graduated with honors
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE AND BUILDING ENGINEERING Faculty of Civil Engineering, Prague, CZ
Czech Technical University
Aquisition of merit scholarship in all 8 semesters
Studio project “Gate to Dejvice” awarded with Yellow Card for selected works
2021 - Graduated with honors
INTERNATIONAL MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE Faculty of Architecture, Brussels, BE Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
2022 - Workshop ”Designing Knowledge Ecologies in the Knowledge Region by the sea 2070” Faculty of Architecture and The Built Environment Technische Universiteit Delft
2023 - Graduated Magna cum Laude
CVO Brussels Dutch A1-A2 course
ABC Dutch den Haag B1 course
Petr Lindauer
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Czech
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014, 2015, 2016 - PART-TIME JOB
Pro Lumine s.r.o. (CZ)
2016 - 2017 - PART-TIME JOB
Atelier RENO s.r.o. (CZ)
2018 - PART-TIME JOB
Pro Lumine s.r.o. (CZ)
2019 - 2020 - ARCHITECTURE INTERNSHIP
Andrle Architekti s.r.o. (CZ)
2021 - ARCHITECTURE INTERNSHIP
kc arch s.r.o. (CZ)
2021 - PUBLICATION
“A Manifesto for the Just City vol. II”, co-author of one of the manifestos, p. 156
2022 - BOOK LAUNCH LIVECAST
Event speaker at “A Manifesto for the Just City vol. II book launch talk”
2022 - ARCHITECTURE INTERNSHIP
Architectuur Platform Terwecoren-Verdickt (BE)
SINCE 04/2024 - ASSISTANT DESIGNER
Geurst & Schulze Architecten (NL)
2024 - TALK
Presentation of Master Thesis project at the Institute of Planning and Development of Prague
PERSONAL SKILLS
Team
English Communication Problem solving C1
Dutch Learning
HARD SKILLS
Autocad, Revit
Archicad
SketchUp
Rhinoceros
Meticulous B1
Academic Professional
Vectorworks
Grasshoper QGIS
Adobe Suite
Lumion
MS Office
Model making
INTERESTS
Travelling
RETRIEVING DISNEYLAND
Location: Karlín, Prague, CZ
50°05’43”N 14°27’57”E
Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven, Brussels
10 / 2022 - 06 / 2023
Supervisor: Anuschka Kutz
Master’s thesis
The housing prices in Prague have been growing rapidly for more than two decades. The city has become one of the most unaffordable metropolises in Europe. Nowadays, everyone up to and within the upper middle class struggles to participate in the exclusive real estate market. The construction of new housing is a domain of large developers whose aim is profit. This led to a commodification of housing, one of the basic rights in the Czech Republic. During recent years, more spires, invisible at first glance, have been added to skyline of the “City of hundread spires”. Prague has turned into a Disneyland, a place built for a profit, built for visitors.
Causes to this issue are are rooted in multiple disciplines of our lives, from history, legislation and politics to differences among respective social groups, investment strategies of people or tourism.
RESEARCH FINDINGS - CAUSES
HOUSING DEFICIT
Years ago, the Prague government stated a need for around ten thousand new flats annually, but construction has not met that target. The housing deficit has worsened, with varying estimates suggesting a shortage of up to 60 thousand flats in the city as of early 2023.
(finished flats in respective years)
LACK OF MUNICIPAL HOUSING
Social housing for vulnerable individuals is severely limited in Prague; in 2021, only about 4% of flats were owned by the municipality. These units are often allocated only to preferred professions like teachers, healthcare workers, or police. The scarcity of municipal housing is a legacy of privatization, which persisted in some districts until 2021. While the municipality aims to increase social housing, budget constraints and limited space pose significant challenges.
(Number of municipal flats in Prague (in thousands))
CULTURE OF OWNING
High housing prices in Prague are also influenced by the prevalent culture of ownership, which was established during the communist era and intensified after privatization in the 1990s. Despite varying attitudes towards housing tenure among different generations, these differences usually do not lead to significant generational conflicts, although understanding between age groups might be lacking.
(Share of owner occupancy in selected European countries)
Prague 2018:
Salary / mo: 1 635 EUR per sq m: 2 539 EUR
Berlin 2018 Salary / mo: 3 880 EUR per sq m: 3 706 EUR
EUR / m2
1 672 - 1 953
1 953 - 2 343
2 343 - 2 734
2 734 - 3 125
3 125 - 4 661
HOUSING PRICES
In Prague, housing prices vary greatly among its 22 districts, with the cheapest flats costing less than a third of the most expensive ones. While the price per square meter might seem low compared to other EU cities, it becomes problematic when considering the average income in Prague. Consequently, some residents are considering moving away from Prague due to the mismatch between housing affordability and their desire for home ownership. Similar housing challenges therefore might arise in other cities across the country. (average selling prices of appartments in 2018)
LEGISLATION
The absence of national legislation that would determine and regulate social housing means every municipality does the housing policy on their own. Since Prague consists of 22 different districts, the lack of coherence is another obstacle obstructing the faster and more comprehensive implementation of solutions.
Another issues within legislation influencing housing crisis are complicated and obsolete building codes, but for example also the absence of regulation of short-term rentals such as Air-bnb in the city center.
POLITICAL DISCOURSE
The lack of politcal cohesion not only harms developing any proper solution, but rather contradicts it. During the past years, when Prague’s municipality already declared the need to increase the number of municipal housing, some districts were still selling their property.
Housing is generally a political issue, with some mayors taking antidevelopment and neighborhoodprotection stands as a political program to gain votes. Social housing is a whole other topic, as every party agrees with the necessity to do something about it, however then it gets side-tracked as an issue with risky outcome.
TOURISM
The city center of Prague, listed as a UNESCO site in 1992, experienced a tourism boom and economic growth due to capitalist market reforms. Buildings nationalized during communism were returned to owners, turning into profitable assets. Like many cities, Prague’s historic center faces issues—now primarily used for tourism and commerce, rather than housing. (map of Airbnb units in Prague as of fall 2019) (passengers at Prague airport and country’s population)
RESEARCH FINDINGS - CONSEQUENCES
SUBURBANIZATION
The unaffordability of housing triggered the movement of inhabitants, and Prague experienced massive suburbanization in the past few decades. In some areas surrounding the city, the number of inhabitants more than doubled over less than two decades. As this urban sprawl mainly consists of car-dependent development of detached houses, the consequence is the use of valuable farmland and nature around the capital. (evolution of inhabitants in Prague and Central Bohemia region 1989 - 2020) (change of inhabitants in respective districts between 2001 and 2018)
MOBILITY
SOCIAL PRESSURE
Approximately a million people are already dealing with housingrelated problems in the country. Some are, for example, deciding if to have another baby, if to go on vacation, etc. Besides the problem of the size of the public housing stock, another issue lies in the authorities’ communication. Roughly 20% of households can ask for a housing subsidy, but only 5-6% actually do. Even though it is assigned to be a problem of communication of government, it can also be a matter of social status. As mentioned earlier, living in rental housing is sometimes perceived as a failure of respective people to provide for themselves. It might be the same case with asking for housing subsidies
Bohemia region
Sprawl of detached houses generates another issue. That is when unsustainable commuting from these suburban areas overflows Pragu, as the city is still the only metropolitan centre in the country. Aproximately 200 thousand people commute to Prague daily, many of them using private means of transport - a car.
(Share of commuters from Central Bohemia region in 2015)
Central
PROPOSAL
Research emphasizes that adopting a hybrid approach in housing provision is crucial to address housing unaffordability effectively. This approach necessitates collaboration
among various stakeholders, including governments, private developers, third sector organizations, and community initiatives. In an environment where private developers dominate housing construction, the key question is:
HOW TO PROVIDE THE MUNICIPALITY WITH A MORE SIGNIFICANT ROLE WITHIN THE CITY’S REAL ESTATE MARKET?
Built environment is only one of the disciplines in which the housing crisis needs to be addressed. Changes need to be made also in legislation and finance. Certain evolution shall happen within political and social discourse. Hence, the implemation of whole strategy will take several decades.
Housing estates
Development classification of subway stations: Transformative areas
Possible
Possible, not desired
In preparation
Not possible
Types of ownership in majority of development areas in the city
Transformation areas
Municipality and its districts
State and its institutions
Physical persons
Legal persons
Multiple types of owners
Transformative areas in the city are mainly owned by private developers or state. The municipality doesn’t have a strong position to influence future development. It is more suitable to harness potential of spaces that municipality already owns. Instead of looking for individual plots, the aim is to identify patterns - one solution can be applied to several locations. Two categories were identified, one of them are vacant spaces above subway stations. The other, which the project further explores, are socialistic housing estates, where municipality ownes the land inbetween the buildings.
Financing is another critical issue of any form of subsidized housing. New buildings could be financed through the participation of private investors, which has a potential to address the desire of many people to invest in real estate. In case of a building extension, municiaplity would cooperate with the Unit Owners Association and bank, and through long-term lease the municipality can use agreed share of flats within the extension as a subsidized housing.
2 - DISTRICT
Densifying specific areas or districts can strain public transport and facilities due to increased population. To counter this, the project adopts the concept of a “15-minute city”, ensuring everyday public services are evenly distributed throughout. The challenge lies in adapting this concept to socialistic housing estates.
Multiple options of densification were considered, from minimal influence on existing spatial relations and infrastructure to those completely transforming the housing estate. Modernist urban landscapes, despite their flaws, can have qualities and shall be represented in the city. For that reason, the chosen densification strategy is the one preserving the character and essence of housing estate. Rather than entirely remodelling the area, the new buildings are positioned to better determine ‘streets’ and ‘squares’ of the 15-minute city.
POCKETS OF ACTIVITIES
Issue socialistic housing estates often face is a neglected public space. The aim is to enhance the quality and attractivness of the outdoors, even though in a smaller scale.
This is achived by introduction of socalled pockets of outdoor activities distrubuted across the estate. Ranging from a small pond or an outdoor workout gym to an anfiteathre, these functions increase the appeal of the public space for the residents.
4 - BUILDING
WASTE MANAGEMENT
SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
RENWABLE ENERGY
HEAT LOSS MINIMALIZATION
ENERGY USAGE OPTIMALIZATION
MATERIAL DIVISION
BALCONIES AND ROOF TERRACE
INDIVIDUAL LEVELS PASSAGE
EMPHASISE ON THE FACADE INTERUPTION OF FACADE
New buildings strain existing infrastructure, including energy, water, and waste disposal. They need to be sustainable, incorporating features like rainwater harvesting, solar panels, and wooden structures.
Additionally, contemporary housing should go beyond mere apartments and hallways, providing spaces for community interaction both inside and outside the buildings.
FLATS
COMMUNITY SPACE CO-LIVING LIBRARY
BERKENBOOM SCHOOL CAMPUS MASTERPLAN
Location: Sint-Niklaas, BE 51°09’53”N 04°08’43”E
Geurst & Schulze Architecten
Since 04/2024
Competition winning proposal with Petra de Vleeschhouwer-Sejkorová
The Berkenboom School Campus was not created by a preconceived plan, but has grown step by step according to needs and spatial and financial possibilities. This way of working created, within the last century and a half, a place with unique character, but also a lot of issues. Buildings that were designed as individual structures, some of them originally for other than educational purposes, nowadays form a maze that can be characterised by inefficiency and complex organization, as the campus houses several different insitutions of various educational levels, from kindergarten to high school.
However, the group of individual schools is rather a ‘family’ and the users describe the atmosphere is filled with homeliness.
The school is seeking to improve the spatial aspects of the campus, together with the need to expand its facilities. This transition has to be done with respect to heritage and existing relationships the users have to the place with more than a century of history.
The complexity resulting from sequential development of the campus can be seen on the scheme’s above. Seven different entrances poses issues with security of the complex, one part of campus is even completely detached from the rest. The buildings are filled with redundant corridors, many structures have different ceiling heights, which is hampering one’s navigation from A to B. The courtyards are spread out and isolated from each other. Nevertheless, all of this forms an environment with significant potential. Besides altering the structures themselves, there is already room for improvement. Such as using the flat roofs for various purposes.
Further potential hides inside, such as opening up the corridors which are sometimes running parallel to each other, separated only by one wall. Further space up for grabs is in the attics, which are now mostly unused.
As the Berkenboom schools are dealing with unsuitable spaces together with general lack of education capacities, exploration was done on where this new required space could occur. Firstly, in general concept in form of additions and extensions. Secondly, a scenario of transforming the currently unused ‘block T’ was developed in various options.
THE BACKBONE OF THE CITY
Location: Reeshof, Tilburg, NL
51°34’26”N 4°59’37”E
Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven, Brussels
02 - 06 / 2022
Supervisor: Cecilia Chiappini, Caroline Newton
Individual project
The Antwerp province in Belgium and the North Brabant region in the Neatherlands. A hypertransformative area with innovation and technology centres, brainports, universities... The attractive economic centres are surrounded by housing developments, the urban sprawl is growing, eating up valuable nature.
The effects of climate change are already showing themselves and society will need a local provision of farmlands and mainly countryside to tackle these. This need comes in a time when the area is already challenged by other aspects.
The population of the Netherlands is expected to rise by 4 million by 2070, nearing 21 million in total. But as the population was growing rapidly over the past 100 years, so did the cities. The maps don’t show growth of the cities, but the decrease of countryside. Can we afford to supply the demand in the same way as we did past 100 years?
den Bosch
Eindhoven
Tilburg
Breda
Turnhout
Antwerp
1920
den Bosch
Eindhoven
Tilburg
Breda
Turnhout
Antwerp
On regional scale, the current network consists of small economic centres and large dwelling areas around. There are entire municipalities made of only low rise housing. No spatial distinction visible according to the scale of the settlement makes them rather anonymous, incapable of creating specific charachter.
URBANITY - EXISTING
On smaller scale, similar scheme can be observed. In larger cities, the center is usually where all the urbanity is concentrated, while suburbs are used mainly for low rise housing. Though public transport can accommodate a lot of commuters, the car remains a necessity. Moreover, the spatial conditions of these suburbs - generous parking offer, lack of walkability, etc.support the use of car.
Breda
Tilburg
den Hertogenbosch
Eindhoven
Turnhout
The project expands the existing network of railway, making it the main intercity public transport solution. Instead of few large economic centers, the proposal aims to create a network of polyfunctional settlements of various sizes. The new, smaller hubs would be developed alongside the existing or new railways.
URBANITY - PROPOSED
To regulate the growth of urban areas, certain policies need to be adopted. In order to facilitate growing population, urban areas need to shift to polycentric. The proposal combines the concepts of TOD and 15-minute walking city. Housing periferies are transformed to address issues of extended car use and lack of walkability. This create a network of small polyfunctional centers within the settlement.
Breda
Tilburg
den Hertogenbosch
Eindhoven
Turnhout
Reeshof
Classical circular centers expand in all the directions, which makes it relatively difficult to regulate the growth. The proposal of this project is a linear center, where only two directions of growth need to be stopped. The borders of these new developments are either new or existing, natural or artificial. A forest, farmland or a river, highway, railway, or another urban structure. The center is formed by a linear public space, providing a setting for interaction contrary to the privacy of the urban sprawl.
At the level of legislation, the need is to agree the settlement will not expand over its present borders. Such a decision was made in Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.
From low-rise development composed mainly of row and detached houses, the new centre would be made of three typologies. Two of them are newly introduced. Adjacent to the public space are the urban blocks. Their height is set to 5-7 levels. That is believed to be an appropriate height for the Netherlands. The essential element of blocks is their potential to activate the public space. The plints of the building would be used for public functions, creating destinations for the people. Upper floors would be used for private functions such as housing or offices.
The urban fabric softens with the distance from the centre. Mainly standalone residential buildings would compose the middle part of the development.
Furthest from the centre are low-rise buildings of single-family dwellings. Formed up by row houses, duplexes or detached houses.
Implemented typologies
Circular centre
Linear centre
The railway is placed underground. With the main public space placed on top of it, what used to be a barrier is now a destination.
Over the decades, the low-rise housing is replaced by urban blocks and standalone buildings. As many existing structures are kept and the transformation takes place as extension or refurbishment of buildings as much as possible. New masterplan follows the existing street pattern. That minimizes the need for change or reconstruction to the engineering infrastructure.
Existing
2035-2040
2045-2050 2025-2035
2040-2045
2050-2060
PERMANENT SPACE FOR TEMPORALITY
Location: Anneessens, Brussels, BE
50°50’42”N 4°20’41”E
Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven, Brussels
10 / 2021 - 01 / 2022
Supervisor: Roeland Dudal, Bob de Wispelaere
Individual project
‘Spaces that represent nothing can therefore become everything. - Toestand
The Future Places Studio focuses on how Brussels will look in 2040. What kind of new buildings and typologies should appear in the city. The clash of the poor west vs. the wealthy east is noticeable in several domains in Brussels. Neigborhoods labelled as worse are usually those with high unemployment, low education level, and the lowest income.
These neighborhoods suffer from high resident mobility. In other words, a lot of people move in and move out. That influences neigborhood deprivation and level of crime, it results in weak social structures, lack of identification and anonymity, among others.
In the most vulnerable neighborhoods the population turnover between 2014-2019 was between 30-40%.
The reasons for leaving the neighborhood can be various, so how can a spatial intervention become a reason to stay? The aim of “White space” is to provide accesible neigborhood space which is flexible as much as possible and where experiments can happen. With functions like offices and apartments and ownership through commons, residents can also profit from the building.
Several of such White spaces then form a network accomodating the needs of the whole neighborhood, in this case explored in Anneessens. This concept can be then used in several neigborhoods, of course every time tailored to the specific location and its context.
Preserving existing structures creates a connection between past and the present. New volume is devided into several parts to fit within local scale. Facade is mostly glazed with an additional layer of wood or steel mesh. Simple materials and structure enable residents without construction skills to participate in the building procces, creating a bond with the place.
SPORTS GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Location: Stodůůůůůůůůůůulky, Prague, CZ
50°02’30”N 14°19’34”E
Faculty of civil engineering, CTU in Prague
02 - 06 / 2020
Supervisor: Petr Lédl
Group project with Michaela Sentenská & Tomáš Pchálek
The aim of urbanistic concept is to create a ‘pervious’ structure of buildings that would contrast with already built blocks of flats in the surroundings. This idea also integrates the new apartment building, which becomes the part of the new structure. Buildings themselves are in harmony with the built development. There is no need of dominants in the wider area with defined function. The park is revitalized and several new sportfields are added.
sports grammar school Petr Lindauer
swimming pool
Tomáš Pchálek
dormitory
multipurpose courts
voleyball hall
Michaela Sentenská
revitalized park
BOS BRIGADE
Location: Auderghem, Brussels, BE
50°48’23”N 4°27’01”E
Architectuur Platform Terwecoren-Verdickt
07 - 08 / 2022
Competition entry with Jan Terwecoren & Eline Debaets
The Auderghem Forest Brigade is one of the four brigades responsible for forest management in the Forest de Soignes. The forest brigade consists of twenty employees who are responsible for the forest area that located north and south of the E411 in the Brussels-Capital Region. Their scope borders with the forest brigade of Uccle and the the one of Groenendaal in Flanders.
The design of the brigade evolves around the relationship of the workers with the forest.
The intention is to provide the people with a direct contact with their surroundings. Circular shape of the building and its orientation allows constant relation with the trees enclosing the site.
The “donut” shape provides an elegant response to the external factors, while harvesting potential views to the surroundings.
Another key aspesct is effectively organizing the fluxes of workers, visitors, goods, machinery, etc.
The materialization of the brigade is of elements coming from the forest: wood and soil. The retaining walls and walls of the lower level are erected in rammed earth. The top floor is integrally constructed as a wood structure of columns and beams, in combination with the facade of glass or wooden siding. The circular shape of building allows for the modular design of the whole structure.
APARTMENT BUILDING ‘GATE TO DEJVICE’
Location: Dejvice, Prague, CZ
50°06’43”N 14°23’37”E
Faculty of civil engineering, CTU in Prague
09 / 2020 - 01 / 2021
Supervisor: Josef Smola
Individual project
Historically, gate served as an entrance to a town. Towers on its sides enabled to see it from the distance. If a gate is supposed to mark a town entrance, it has to be visible. For this reason it wasn’t necessary to hold the height level in the area. It was an aim to go higher.
main volume addition of cuboids
pedestrian permeability addition of balconies
The concept of a building volume evolves from a character of a place and existing development in the surroundings. Buildings from different periods create an environment without determined character. For the gate to form an integrated ensemble, the shape of the object is derived from an opposite building of the Military design institute.
Main volume spans through entire height of the building. Three added cuboids of different heights create graduating composition. The two buildings work on the same principle. Though they don’t seem to have anything in common, it is possible to see them as a unit, they supplement each other.
CONVERSION OF ‘OPEK’, LEUVEN, BELGIUM
Carlota Matos Silva, Mahtab Moradi, Parsa Jalalian, Petr Lindauer, Daniel Sucka
Tutors: Dirk Jaspert, Bruno Depré, Monika Richtáriková, Conversion in Urban Context Course, Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven, June 2022
The OPEK is located in the north of Leuven. It sits at the end of a canal marina, surrounded by new apartment buildings. From the back it faces a wall of elevated park and a street. As most of the buildings are taller than OPEK, the roof becomes a fifth facade of the building.
The task was to convert an old factory building into a culture space revolving around two event venues. Additionaly, the new program includes a restaurant, exhibition space and facilities for artists such as ateliers, lounge or rehearsal space.
The idea is to divide building into three parts of a foyer, which is public, private area of artists, and the venues, where public and private meet. The height extension of the venues and of the atrium is done in a minimalistic way so that the volume and composition of the existing building isn’t disturbed.
OPENBAAR ENTREPOT
Preserving brutalism
Brutalist buildings have become ‘persona non grata’ in certain countries. Many valuable structures are often being demolished just because those who make the decisions either see them as ugly or have it connected with the previous socialistic era, and they look at these buildings with contempt. As it is uncertain which buildings and for how long will remain here, I decided to preserve them at least in my sketchbooks.
